Can Snoring Cause Heart Disease?

For most of us, snoring is just a pesky reflex that we or our loved ones can’t get rid of, and most people consider it harmless, save the disturbing effects it can have on our sleeping patterns. However, the tables seem to be turning as important research surfaced with evidence that snoring could in fact be a significant factor in predisposing us for heart disease.

This sounds highly improbable, yes, but everything becomes much clearer when you hear the explanation by experienced otorhinolaryngologists Dr. Deeb and K.Yaremchuk M.D., who performed extensive research showing that constant snoring can considerably damage carotid artery, one of the crucial elements of healthy blood flow and strong heart. Let’s break this up a little bit.

If you are a snorer, your carotid artery, one of the biggest blood vessels in your body, is in imminent danger. The study showed that changes are noticeable on the carotid walls, due to inflammation and trauma caused by the constant vibration of the tissue, and with time, the walls of the carotid thicken, and blood flows slower. The direct result of this problem is atherosclerosis, which is basically plaque that piles up in your carotid artery and disables normal blood flow.

If you are familiar with obstructive sleep apnea, then you know that this is a sleep disorder that is caused by an airway that collapses while you sleep, which can result in cartoon-like snoring, but it also stops the breathing for shorts periods of time. Sleep apnea has since long been connected with numerous diseases, cardiovascular problems being one of them. Doctors now claim though, that snoring is in the root of the issue.

This is what the good doctors of Detroit set out to explore and prove in the study that took about six years to complete, but the results were more than telling. The research was conducted in the period from December of 2006 until January 2012. A total of 913 patients were selected to participate in the research, and they were completely healthy, with no danger of sleep apnea disorder, with ages ranging from eighteen to fifty-year-old. Out of 913, 54 patients had a carotid artery duplex ultrasound, which showed the thickness of two inner layers of the arterial walls (carotid intima-media thickness).

After they ran tests, the doctors compared the results of snorers and non-snorers, and the results were clear – people who snore do in fact suffer from the thickening of artery walls. What was interesting is the fact that patients who suffered from different disorders or health concerns such as diabetes or high cholesterol levels didn’t show any additional carotid problems as opposed to the ones who were more or less perfectly healthy snorers.

The team that worked on the aforementioned study is now planning a new research, a long-term one that will without any doubt show the connection between snoring and the hearth health problem it poses. Why are they doing this?

Firstly, because snoring is a problem that is generally neglected and not taken too seriously, even though more evidence emerge that show the exact opposite. Even in health insurance policies, snoring is put in the cosmetic issues column, when its importance and effect it has on our health are apparently much deeper. It often happens that some concerns that are not very significant or noticeable with time start posing a serious health threat, and that is exactly the case with snoring.

What Dr. Deeb and K.Yaremchuk M.D. are working on is directing public attention to the fact that snoring is much more than just an annoyance, and that the damage it can inflict on the carotid artery is substantial and very real. But more than other doctors, these devoted researchers are addressing everyone in equal measure to try their best and prevent something as “insignificant as snoring” get in our way of optimal health.

So, if you have a problem with snoring, this is excellent time to go to your doctor, check it out and get effective treatment. Chances are, you will help yourself stay healthy and you will make everyone around you happy, because you are not interrupting their sleep. Snoring is in fact connected to the heart disease, and if you can prevent, don’t wait a single minute to do so.

Monica Nichols is a 32-year-old fashion designer and freelance writer from Omaha, Nebraska. She's been writing for www.diet.st since 2014, and in her free time she likes making pottery and playing with her pet cat.